Music in the Middle Ages -- Gregorian Chant and Old Roman Chant -- Performance, Differences, Similarities, and Problems That Faced This Ancient Music 

A picture of Pope Gregory I

John Sharkey

Music 362

October 7, 1999

Dr. Christopher Corley

Introduction

The liturgy is the largest musical and artistic experience possible. Two of the most popular forms of music in the Middle Ages were Gregorian Chant and Old Roman Chant. This essay will explain the beginnings of Chant, some problems that Chant faced in the Middle Ages, show similarities and differences between Gregorian Chant and Old Roman Chant, and tell about how the music was involved with the liturgy at that time.

Gregorian Chant

Also known as plainchant or plainsong, Gregorian Chants are a single-line melody. They were named for Pope Gregory the Great, who reigned from 590 to 604 and is generally credited for cataloging the Chants used by the Church into a definitive body.

The Chant melodies are written for unison voice and are free from accent. They avoid wide leaps and dynamic contrasts. Gregorian Chant has been described as "prayer on pitch", because of its simple qualities and sacred sound.

Missionaries brought Gregorian Chant to the areas in Europe that were newly converted. This extended Gregorian Chant's domain until it was a part of every phase of musical activity in Europe, not only in the realm of sacred music, but a part of all music. 

Old Roman Chant

Old Roman Chant was the Roman version of Gregorian chant.Old Roman Chant is a liturgical repertory of melodies. This music has survived in 

manuscripts, such as missals and ordinals, since the time of its use. Old Roman Chant was most popular between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, but the Chant can be traced back to at least the eighth century. It is no longer thought that Gregorian Chant represents Old Roman Chant in the time of Gregory, but that it originated in the Frankish Empire circa the year 800, with the introduction of the Roman liturgy there. The Roman tradition continued to develop until the 11th century, while absorbing many Frankish elements. 

There are several outstanding features that make Old Roman Chant different than other music. Old Roman offertories have the highest incidence of textual divergence. This means that the text used in the Chant come in a wide range of biblical and non-biblical prayers. These offertories vary in size and in the time of the year that they are used. Many Old Roman offertories are used to give alms, admiration to God, and thanks to God.

Performance of the Chant

There were three different types of performance classifications in the Middle Ages: antiphonal (alternating choirs), responsorial (alternating soloist and choir), and direct (without alternation). Text for these Chants were either syllabic (the singer does not change pitch on a syllable) or melismatic (a single syllable is stretched through a considerable amount of melodic motion). Often, Chant reflects post-classical Latin accents of the text. This principle came to be known as tonic accent. Chant also used a process where a phrase is adapted, as 

necessary, to the words of that particular moment in the text. This is called centonization.

Chant's Problems and Difficulties in the Middle Ages

Chant's difficulties developed over time. As familiarity with the Church had led to interference, so, in the Chant world, familiarity with the Chants now led to a desire for freshness, which resulted in interference with the traditional rendering of the sacred melodies. 

In the government of the Church at large, many of the problems of this time were due to the bringing together of sacred music with secular music. This havoc to the Chant would be due largely to the fact that this new music, which was a perfectly legitimate and beautiful development, was being brought together with secular music. Theorists were treating both kinds of music on the same basis and this became a detriment to the Chant. The confusion of the spiritual with the secular led to the neglect of the spiritual, though there was no great upheaval. 

The confusion as to this new Chant led to the neglect of the Old Tradition, though there was no serious harm to the Chant. In fact, after the year 950 the Chant compositions that were being produced were in part inferior to the earlier ones as regards to simplicity, naturalness, and warmth of feeling. 

Nevertheless, Chant continued to hold its ground as the universal musical language of the Church. Furthermore, it was the monastic foundation that preserved and fed the sacred fire of Christian tradition. It was also the monastic 

homes of the Sons of Benedict (these was a group of monks founded by St. Benedict) that preserved and fostered the sacred Chant. Without these monks the Chant might have been lost to succeeding generations. And if St. Benedict, through his Order, can be said to have saved Christianity in Europe, he can also be said to have preserved the Chant. 

Comparison between Gregorian Chant and Old Roman Chant in the Mass

Old Roman Chant's introits show general melodic correlation to Gregorian Chant. However, Old Roman Chant's offertories have a higher divergence textually.

Old Roman Chant uses unusually long melismas. This Chant had a tendency to allow the melismas and phrases to flow over the caesura (a caesura is a metrical break in a verse, occurring in the middle of a foot and commonly near the middle of the verse) and link each Chant with the following one. This makes the chant a constant continuation of the melodic flow.

These melismas used in Old Roman Chant have no standard melodic formula and these musical lines are not as clearly outlined as the melodic lines used in Gregorian Chant. Later, in Rome, Old Roman chant was finally ousted and Gregorian chant was continued due to its stable, yet flexible, nature. 

The number of Alleluia melodies is much smaller in Old Roman chant than in Gregorian chant. There are eleven Old Roman Alleluias that use their own 

melodies. The remaining alleluias utilize seven standard Alleluia formulas and these Alleluias correspond more or less in their verses. Ten Old Roman alleluias have a melodia secunda (which is an extension of the jubilus). 

There are a few similarities between Old Roman Chant and Gregorian Chant. In the offertory, there is a three note neumatic structure over a single syllable continuously throughout. Similar phenomenon occurs in Gregorian offertory verses. And, in the antiphon, most standard Gregorian melodies appear in Old Roman Chant. However, there are still several differences in Lenten antiphons. 

Relationship Between the Gregorian and Old Roman Melodies

of the Divine Office

St. Benedict started the Divine Office as a set of detailed regulations to order every aspect of a monk's day of study and work. The Divine Office is a set of eight services. Here is the list of services: Matins, Lauds, Prime,Terce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, andCompline. Chant was a major role that a monk must carry out daily. The monks used both Old Roman Chant and Gregorian Chant. 

There were several differences between the two Chants in the Divine Office. Divergences of the Old Roman repertory from the Gregorian repertory are much greater in the Divine Office than in the Mass. Old Roman Chants for the Divine Office differ greatly from the Old Roman Chants at another occasion. In responsories, sources contain six hundred and thirty-six Old Roman responsories (most of this information comes from Old Roman Chant missals 

and ordinals). These manuscripts indicate that an extensive respond production in Gregorian Chant did not occur in the Old Roman tradition. This means that there were additional parts added to Gregorian Chants in the Divine Office tradition.

There is a similarity between the two Chants in the Divine Office. Most of the individual melodic phrases flow directly into one another. Often, the opening of the second part only completes a cadence of the first part. This holds true for both kinds of Chant. 

Summary & Conclusion

Gregorian Chant and Old Roman Chant are two of the most important musical entities of the Middle Ages. These Chants have several differences and similarities in the Mass and in the Divine Office. The performance of these chants is versatile, yet simple. These Chants are diverse textually and have some of the most beautiful and genuine prayers ever created. 

I believe that the church has a great history and I think that many people that enjoy religious study should become knowledgeable of where the Church has come from. The Chant is an important figure in Church and should be cherished by religious figures and the laity alike. 

Bibliography

1.Internet Source: http://www.sni.net/advent/Popes/ppgr01.htm

2.Internet Source:http://www.dictionary.com

3.Internet Source: http://members.tripod.com/~papandr/musicology/oldroman.htm

4.Internet Source: http://members.tripod.com/~papandr/musicology/grout2.html

5.Internet Source: http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/gregorian.html

6.Internet Source: http://www.netacc.net/~bbasile/chantbar.htm

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